Device for automatically opening car door locking system



May 23, 1967 X P. ARBEL 3,32

DEVICE FOR AUTOMATICALLY OPENING CAR DOOR LOCKING SYSTEM Filed Nov. 5, 1964 l l L J t I Qfnvenor GD m pier-re. Hr'ba/ 5 7 JWM/w United States Patent 3,321,093 DEVICE FOR AUTOMATICALLY OPENING CAR DOOR LOCKING SYSTEM Pierre Arbel, Paris, France, assignor to Etablissements Arbel, Paris, France, a corporation of France Filed Nov. 5, 1964, Ser. No. 409,057 Claims priority, application France, Feb. 12, 1964,

963,481, Patent 1,397,259

1 Claim. (Cl. 214-63) This invention relates to bilateral-discharge gablebottom cars and more particularly to an automatic door control arrangement therefor.

The doors of this type of car are hinged at the top and provided at the bottom with latches or hooks adapted to engage, in the closed position, corresponding catches or slots formed in the inclined car bottom, said latches or the like being responsive, for opening the doors by releasing them from the catches, to cam means carried by shafts extending laterally along the frame of the car and controlled by a central rocker fulcrumed intermediate the Wheels. This rocker is tilted in a vertical plane coincident with the longitudinal center axis of the car when the rocker strikes some form of stop means disposed between the track rails, so as to act upon transverse arms causing with their outer end bell-crank levers carried by side pins to rock and thus enable said shafts to rotate and release the latches from the catches.

On the other hand, said doors are provided with rollers adapted to engage stationary cam faces provided on either side of the track for moving said doors and latches and thus cause the latter to engage the catches or like companion means provided in the gable bottom walls of the car.

Reference will now be made to the accompanying drawing in order to afford a clearer understanding of this invention. In the drawing:

FIGURE 1 illustrates diagrammatically in fragmentary cross-section a typical bilateral-discharge gable-bottom car with closed doors;

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary diagram showing in side elevational view the same car and a rocker arm actuated by a stationary stop member on the track;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view similar to FIGURE 1 but showing the engagement of the door-rollers with the stationary cam-faces disposed on either side of the track;

FIGURE 4 is a plan view from above showing the empty car with the doors depending just before they are closed by the movement controlled by the lateral cam faces; and

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary cross-section showing a safety lock.

Referring to the drawing, it will be seen that the gablebottom car comprises doors 1 pivoted at the top by means of hinges 2 on the main body of the car and comprising each a latch 3 and a roller 4 mounted on a bracket 5. The latches 3 are adapted to engage catches or slots 6 formed in the inclined bottom walls 7 of the car.

Transverse levers '8 are fulcrumed at 8 on the car frame and bear with their inner ends on a T-shaped rocker 9 disposed in the longitudinal vertical axial plane of the car and with their outer ends on a bell-crank lever 10 rigid with a fixed shaft 11 extending along the side of the car. These shafts 11 are also provided with cams 12 adapted to engage the heels 3 of latches 3.

The T-shaped rocker 9 mounted under the frame of the gable-bottom car has its horizontal arms mounted in metaLtraps 13 secured to the frame so that it can tilt inside these guide straps when they strike the stop 14 disposed between the track rails at the discharge or dumping station. A spring 16 having one end attached to the car frame and the other end attached to a. corresponding bell-crank lever 10 constantly urges the device to a position of equilibrium.

FIGURES 3 and 4 show clearly the lateral cam faces 15 for swinging the doors 1 to their closed position.

This arrangement operates as follows:

To open the doors the car is driven on the track to the discharge station and when the T-shaped rocker 9 strikes the fixed stop 14 disposed between the track rails the rocker 9 is tilted and causes the bell-crank levers 10 to be tilted in turn by the transverse levers 8. The movement of these levers 8 rotates the shafts 11 and therefore the cams 12 carried thereby, thus releasing the heels 3 of latches 3 from their catches 6.

The doors are thus free to pivot and open under the pressure exerted by the car load.

After the rocker 9 has cleared the stop member 14 the springs 16 restore the assembly to its initial condition.

To close the doors when the car is discharged and proceeds with the doors depending freely from their hinges, the rollers 4 carried by these doors engage the cam faces 15 which push the doors back towards the center of the car.

At the end of the door movement the latches 3 drop into their catches 6 and the doors are thus closed and locked.

If desired the cam faces 15 may be remotely controlled to move them to their operative position; alternatively, these cam faces may have a predetermined position and be mounted on a resilient support for absorbing the car movements along the track.

FIGURE 5 illustrates as a modified form of embodiment a safety lock 17 for maintaining the doors closed independently of the above-described arrangement.

The use of this safety device makes it necessary to tilt the lock 17 manually before the car is moved over the stop 14. The safety lock 17 resumes its operative position automatically when the doors are closed.

Of course, the various forms of embodiment illustrated and described herein should not be construed :as limiting this invention since many modifications and variations may be brought thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Thus, notably, the stop 14 may be replaced with a double cam face disposed between the track rails. This stop or cam face may be retractable and remote-controlled in case a plurality of discharge pits or trestles are provided at a same station, so that a single operator may select from a single overhead control cabin the pit or trestle above which eachcar is to be discharged.

The above-described device refers more particularly to a railway gable-bottom car, but it would not constitute a departure from this invention to use the same device on any other cars, such as transportation cars of the directimpelled vehicle type or like industrial cars.

I claim:

A device for automatically opening locking systems on side discharge hopper cars comprising in combination, a stationary stop retractably mounted between the rails, said hopper car having a plurality of lateral discharge doors with a locking system means comprising a rod de pending from substantially the center of said car, said rod being mounted at its upper end for movement only in the longitudinal direction of said car, at least one transversely mounted double-armed lever pivotally mounted on said car body and engaging with the upper end of said depending rod, an unlocking shaft rotatably and longitudinally mounted beneath each said discharge door, a spring-biased lever fixedly mounted on each said shaft, a cam surface on one end of said lever, the other end of said lever engaging with said double-armed lever, each said door havr 3 4 ing a pivotally mounted latch having a downwardly di- References Cited by the Examiner rected heel portion, an opening adjacent the lower end of UNITED STATES PATENTS each hopper, sald heel normally engaglng sa1d openlng in 1,266,630 5/1918 Ross et a1 the door closed and locked posltion, upon engagement of said depending rod with said stop, said double-armed lever 5 FOREIGN PATENTS being pivoted to in turn rotate said lever against said spring 1 395 54 /19 2 France bi-as about said shaft to engage said cam With said heel moving the latter from said opening whereby said doors GERALD M. FORLENZA, Primary Examiner.

-will automatically open under the influence of the mate- ROBERT G SHERIDAN Examiner rial therein. 10 

